I have been playing with the idea of building a warmer for my 5 gallon glass fermenter. I saw reptile tape at the pet store, It keeps snake aquariums warm. I dont have a lot of room and thought of building a box that my fermenter would fit into and use a couple strips of this tape with a plug in thermostat. Has anybody done this or seen it done before. Any other ideas?Thanks Steve.

I've had similar ideas, but for an under tank aquarium heater designed for an aquarium rather than for reptiles, since these supposedly automatically regulate the temperature of a fluid. Check out this link:

I live in the GPNW and the one thing that had bugged me in the past is the variance in temperatures as I live up in the San Juan Islands. I have used most everything as well as older (non automatic) heat pads but the problem is keeping the fermentation as stable as possible and although the heat belts are good, they still do not provide heat that is the same thru-out the beer wort.

I settled on using a couple of my carboys, a SS thermo-well ($20), two silicone food safe vented stoppers Williams Brewing (WB)(decreases un-needed height) ($5) a used box freezer ($25) a two stage controller ($100) and a small low wattage space heater for $15. I also purchased a few carboy strap type carriers ($20) ebay The pre wired controllers are a plug-n-play, one inlet for the heater,one inlet for the freezer temp override and it plugs into the wall. dial a one degree vary and go. Best thing I bought since my 15 gallon kettle.

With the carboys, you can watch the activity as it ferments and you have much better control over it. The sensor from the controller is positioned almost perfectly in the center of the carboy, giving you true readings. Best bang for the buck if you live in an area that can have a 20-30 degree swing you NEED this type of setup to ferment at a stable temp IMHO

I need to arrange a good solution for maintaining more constant temperatures. My old cellar was a constant 50F all Winter and a manageable 70F all Summer. My new place remains reasonably cool, so far, but varies too much with the weather.